Invitations
Build up excitement for your party with invitations featuring a variety of tool-themed designs, including hammers, nails, wrenches, screwdrivers, and hard hats.

Decorations
Cut out tool shapes from various-colored pieces of large oaktag paper, then tape them on walls around the room. Use workbenches to serve snacks upon. Employ toy dumptrucks as table centerpieces, filling the back of each truck with confetti.

Activities
Decide ahead of time what you want your partygoers to build with their tools. Make the project simple, yet stimulating enough to keep young builders’ attention. Remember to keep all work areas well-covered with plastic tablecloths, and provide work aprons (or old T-shirts) to keep partygoers clean. One project to consider is a jewelry box for Mom. This will give guests the opportunity to use a hammer and nails, screwdriver and screws, hinges, sandpaper, and stain, plus felt and glue. Pre-cut wood before the party, leaving a few pieces to be sawed in front of guests so they can see how it’s done without doing it themselves. After the building project is completed, keep partygoers busy with toy tools they can use for imaginary fix-it projects around the room.

Snacks
Place snacks in clean buckets, then add toy shovels to serve up the food. Clean, plastic toy hard hats can be used by guests in place of snack bowls.

Cake
You can easily turn a rectangular cake into one that looks like a saw by jaggedly cutting away part of the bottom at a slight diagonal, then cutting out an oval hole along the larger end. Use frosting to complete the saw effect. You can even use a clean, real saw to slice and serve this clever cake.

Goody Bags
A miniature tool set is the perfect giveaway for this party. Place it in a brown paper bag that the birthday child has decorated himself with tool-shaped stickers.

Thank-you’s
Match your thank-you notes to your invitation, or choose a complementary design. Teach your child good manners by allowing him to sign his name to each note. Also, don’t forget to mention what the gift was that you’re thanking the person for -- and how much your child enjoyed it! Add a tool-shaped sticker on the envelope for a fun final touch.